updated 04:40 pm EDT, Wed September 14, 2011

MOG to offer free music streaming tomorrow

Music streaming service MOG just announced it will launch a free streaming music service, bringing a competitor to the free version of Spotify, which itself recently launched in the US. The ad-supported service will roll out on September 15, and supplement the smarpthone apps already available. It will offer on-demand streaming music.

Unlike Spotify's upcoming hour-based limits, however, MOG will limit subscribers to a set amount of free tracks they can play every month. The so-called 'gas tank' approach will require users to fill it back up rather than getting refilled automatically every month. They can do so by sharing playlists with friends over social networks, exploring MOG's library and otherwise virally market MOG.

MOG offers 11 million songs and offers higher quality than other music services. It also offers artist-only stations and a discovery mode, though whether this will be available in the free version remains to be seen. Slacker radio also offers an ad-supported free radio service with some other restrictions, such as limited song skips per hour, per station, while Rdio only has a paid service with a free trial period.